Thougths Are Not The Problem
An exploration into how overthinking, anxiety, and mental exhaustion often come from identifying too closely with the mind’s output. Using simple metaphors — from smartphones to car dashboards — this blog attempts to offer a grounded way to understand thinking without turning it into a spiritual project. A quiet invitation to relate to the mind with more clarity and less struggle.
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We spend much of our lives trying to manage, improve, or escape our thoughts.
But what if thoughts themselves were never the real issue?
Rather than offering techniques or advice, the essays invite readers to notice what remains constant as thoughts appear and disappear
You Are Not Your Thoughts (And That’s Not as Obvious as It Sounds)
Most of us live as if every thought in our head is personal.
As if thinking defines who we are.
If the mind feels anxious, we say I am anxious.
If thoughts turn pessimistic, we call it my nature.
But notice this carefully.
Thoughts often appear before we are aware of them.
If you were choosing your thoughts,
why would they surprise you?
The mind produces activity.
You notice it.
That noticing is quiet.
But it’s always present.
Thoughts Come From the Mind — But You Don’t Choose Most of Them
Thoughts don’t float in from nowhere.
They arise inside the mind.
Memory, habit, conditioning, biology —
all of it feeds the thinking system.
But generating is not the same as choosing.
Have you ever noticed a thought already running
by the time you became aware of it?
That gap matters.
The mind generated the thought.
Awareness noticed it.
Two different functions.
Often confused as one.
Your Mind Is Like a Smartphone (And Thoughts Are the Apps)
Your phone runs apps constantly.
Some open intentionally.
Some run in the background.
Notifications pop up without asking.
Updates happen silently.
You didn’t start every process —
but you see them because there’s a screen.
The mind works the same way.
Thoughts are apps.
Intrusive thoughts are notifications.
Awareness is the screen.
You are not the apps.
You are the one seeing the screen.
The Dashboard Is Not the Driver
When you drive, the dashboard shows signals.
Lights turn on. Alerts flash.
Some matter.
Some are harmless.
Some repeat endlessly.
You don’t become the warning light.
You notice it — then decide what to do.
Thoughts work the same way.
They are signals from the system.
Not your identity.
Confusing the dashboard for the driver
is how mental noise becomes suffering.
If You Can Stop Thinking, Doesn’t That Contradict Everything?
During focus or meditation, thoughts may slow.
Sometimes they stop completely.
This feels like control.
And in a sense, it is.
But you’re not shutting down the mind.
You’re redirecting attention.
Attention is fuel.
When it’s fully absorbed,
the thought-system quietens naturally.
What matters is this:
even when thoughts stop, awareness remains.
Silence doesn’t feel like absence.
It feels clear.
Overthinking Hurts Because We Identify Too Much
Overthinking isn’t excessive thinking.
It’s excessive identification.
A thought says, “You’re behind.”
And instead of noticing it, we become it.
The system generates signals.
We treat them as self-definition.
That’s the strain.
When thoughts are seen as output,
not identity, their grip weakens.
They still appear.
But they no longer dominate.
A Simple Practice That Doesn’t Feel Like Practice
You don’t need a routine for this.
The next time a thought appears,
quietly note:
“A thought is happening.”
Not my thought.
Not me.
Just a thought.
That small shift creates space.
Space allows the system to settle
without force or suppression.
Nothing dramatic changes.
But everything softens.
Thoughts Appear. Thoughts Disappear. You Remain.
The mind is a system that produces thoughts.
Attention can amplify or quiet them.
But awareness — the noticing —
does not depend on thought.
Noise or silence,
clarity or confusion,
activity or stillness —
You remain.
That’s not philosophy.
That’s experience.
Once you see it,
you stop mistaking the app for the screen
and the dashboard for the driver.
